Wenger: can he win title?

It pains me to say it because I love the way Arsenal play football, but I think they'll struggle to challenge for the league.

Matt Le Tissier
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If Arsenal want to be serious title contenders they know they should have more than 13 points from their opening seven games.

Perhaps if they'd played Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United already you'd say it wasn't a bad return but they've played West Brom, Fulham, Newcastle, Blackburn, Bolton, Hull and Sunderland. At the start of the season they'd have fancied themselves to take three points off all of those teams.

They've dropped eight points in the games against Fulham, Hull and Sunderland who are unlikely to be challenging near the top at the end of the season and that has left them with a mountain to climb at this early stage.

If they want to challenge for the title they are now going to have to win games against the 'Big Three' rather than just nicking points off them. I'd say they need to take four points off all three of the other big boys.

They might enjoy playing against the big teams a bit more because they won't put 10 men behind the ball and Arsenal will have a bit more freedom and space for the likes of Theo Walcott and Emmannuel Adebayor to take advantage of. But then again the big teams will offer much more threat going forwards as well.

It pains me to say it because I love the way they play football, but I think they'll struggle to challenge for the league.

The run they had last season was great and it was a shame they faltered at the end, but I just don't think they look as strong as United, Chelsea or possibly even Liverpool at the moment.

Strange

When you look at how well they played against Porto in the Champions League, it's strange to see them struggling to beat Hull and Sunderland, especially when you see the quality they have in their side.

In all fairness, they dominated the game against Sunderland on Saturday. Sunderland barely got out of their own half, parked the bus in front of the goal and kept 10 men behind the ball with Djibril Cisse isolated up front on his own.

That was the game plan for 70 minutes and after that they pushed a few more men forward, which nearly worked because they nicked the lead. I think other teams might have been watching and Arsene Wenger might come up against those tactics a few more times this season.

Arsenal did struggle to create many clear-cut chances, although they had a goal harshly disallowed after an hour which might have made it a different game. Had that been allowed Arsenal might have gone on to win it comfortably, but if they don't get that early breakthrough then they're in trouble.

Finance

We've had several e-mails from fans saying Arsene Wenger should have spent more over the summer, but that's always a difficult one with the finances at Arsenal.

Wenger wants to do it his way, rather than spending £30million on the Berbatovs of this world. You have to respect him for that and I'm sure the Arsenal fans like that policy and love watching the football they're playing, but there will come a point when they want to win a trophy.

To go over that final hurdle to claim some silverware they might need to throw a bit of cash around at one or two top-drawer players.

The first XI is already very good and it's quite difficult to improve on their best team. If Robin van Persie was always fit then you wouldn't have any problem playing him up front with Emmannuel Adebayor every week.

But I'm not sure if the guys waiting in the wings are good enough to step in for those two. Nicklas Bendtner isn't top drawer for me and I know Carlos Vela is coming through but he's still a little bit young, so they need another top centre-forward.

I'd also say the left-side of midfield is an area they've got to look at. Gael Clichy is a fabulous full-back but he needs somebody in front of him who's going to dominate the left wing.

Maybe they are also looking for another centre-back. Kolo Toure and William Gallas are good, but you need a bit more strength in depth if you are going to challenge for honours.

Harsh

However, there should not be any question marks over Wenger's future. If you look at how far he's taken Arsenal since he first took over then it would be a bit harsh to start criticising him.

We've had e-mails suggesting he's taken the club as far as he can, but I still think there is a big job for him to do. He'll still think he can improve things at the Emirates Stadium and after all he's done, he deserves a lot more time to do it in.

From what I've seen so far, the title might be beyond them this year but I am certainly not writing them off completely.

In this game, you just never know.